Suspended vehicles of the monorail-type and others are known. Wheeled carriages commonly referred to as "bogies" support a cargo or passenger car from an overhead track. To accommodate movement around bends, it is desirable to form a pivot joint between each bogie and the car, allowing centrifugal forces to pivot the car until a balanced orientation is achieved. Two problem arise. First, a non-even distribution of cargo or passengers can incline the car relative to horizontal. Second, wind forces may cause the car to sway about the pivot joint. Both effects are dissettling to passengers, producing lateral forces that tend to topple them. Cargo also tends to displace.
The car can be rigidly fixed to a bogie to resist changes in orientation in response to weight distribution and wind effects. This is particularly applicable to vehicles suspended by paired wheels running on dual spaced-apart rails. However, this prevents natural and acceptable pivoting in response to centrifugal forces. When traversing bends, passengers once again experience unpleasant lateral forces and items of cargo tend to displace. The operating speed of such a vehicle may have to be restricted.
The present invention addresses the foregoing problems.